Ending the scourge of measles

Vaccination against measles has been declining steadily over the last ten years in India. This must be reversed in order to avoid a serious outbreak of the disease

Measles is a highly contagious disease with the potential to leave large sections of the population vulnerable to morbidity and mortality. Historically, it has claimed millions of lives each year. The measles vaccine that John Enders and his colleagues developed in 1963 changed the morbidity and mortality demographics of the world forever. Between 2000 and 2016, the two-dose measles vaccine helped save an estimated 20.4 million lives the world over. To reiterate efforts at the global level, the WHO, under its Global Vaccine Action Plan, is targeting the elimination of measles by 2020. 

However, it seems that the wheels of this